Party's Over, Bloggers: CBS, NBC, Fox Threaten Free Clip Service Redlasso
Redlasso, a TV clip service favored by bloggers everywhere, is being threatened with legal action by three of the major media conglomerates: Fox (NWS), CBS (CBS) and NBC (GE). The three companies have sent the Web firm a cease-and-desist letter for recording television and distributing it without their permission, and are giving them until May 29 to stop or get hauled into court.
What's Redlasso? It's hard to imagine media and political blogs like Huffington Post, Perez Hilton or Hot Air without it. The company records live TV and allows users to search for clips, grab them and embed them on their own sites. It's pretty sweet! It's also a version of what Sling Media is trying to do -- except Sling is going through the laborious process of getting the networks, producers and the countless other rights holders to give it permission.
Apparently Red Lasso hasn't done so. In the meantime, want a clip of what Keith Olbermann said last night? Bill O'Reilly? They're easily found on Redlasso, just one reason NBC and Fox are threatening to sue. Here, for instance, is a clip from Fox & Friends from this morning:
An NBC source says they've got no problem with people grabbing NBC content, they just want them to do it through Hulu or MSNBC.com. Redlasso said it is reviewing the letter (posted below) and will respond shortly.
Postscript: TechCrunch had a nice long chat today with the Redlasso folks, who apparently neglected to mention the cease and desist letter. TC says that asked about it now, the Redlasso people say they "didn’t expect the letter to leak."




it's all bits man. it's all just bits.
i'm a big user, fan, supporter of redlasso. i hope they survive this unenlightened bullying
Wonder how this will work out for them.
(Now, funny that you used Scribd in your post. I wonder how long will it take until book publishers finally aim to shut down that service, another service that is popular JUST because of the many copyright protected books that can be found there, while the service happily hides behind DMCA?)
The bottom line is that all these clips are copyrighted, and Redlasso doesn't have permission to distribute them. Nothing else matters at all.
Bullshit!
Once a public broadcast is made it's similar to throwing your trash away. Anyone can do as they please with it. And for f*** sake let's keep this in perspective. What these idiots usually babble about incessantly and in idiot groups is not worth the time of day nor does it , or will it ever, enrich my life one iota. Seems to me they are getting too big for their britches and seem to have an overly inflated view of themselves and their lame, generally, content. MSNBC and HULU? I've tried both and tend to stear clear. very clear. I say, tell them all to go f off.
Content owners (and advertisers) are satisfied because RedLasso knows exactly what is being clipped, where it's embedded and where viewers are located. It's not a far stretch to imagine the addition of controls over the distribution once content owners have this data.
Users are satisfied because they have nearly immediate access to the broadcast content they want, with the ability to clip exactly the portion they want (not what content owners define).
The alternative is to continue to let sites like YouTube build a business by hiding behind the unanticipated side effects of DMCA. It's in YouTube's best interest to continue to claim ignorance about their ability to know what's being hosted and streamed from their site.
In the end, I believe RedLasso has shown content owners the way to solve the problems they have with sites like YouTube while giving them the data and control and users what they want, content the way they want it.
Once a public broadcast is made it's similar to throwing your trash away. Anyone can do as they please with it.
BULLSHIT!
You leave the keys to your car in the public's plain site and I can then take your car for a ride? Is that 'fair use'. Intellectual rights are just a important and personal property rights.
What RedLasso is doing is wrong, and just plain against the law, especially when they are projecting making $500,000 in revenue this year.
I hope this C&D finally gives the fair use advocates platform to defend their position. It's clear that there's plenty of room to argue that short clips used within the context of someone elses content (blogging, news shows, entertainment shows, etc). RedLasso's battle is over creating the platform that makes it easy for users to find and create the clips. There are already plenty of media monitoring companies out there that already do this for a fee to customers, but RedLasso has taken this capability to the public.
That said, I wonder what these networks CAN do. They own commercial content, but distribute through public airspace. It's not like E! or Comedy Central is suing, who could potentially lose money through carriage fees by having their channel on "tape delay" online for free.
AND RedLasso is not altering the networks content in any way, shape or form. All the same original commercials are there. This is unauthorized, but, advertisers are getting DOUBLE the exposure, for free. Sure, it's easier to skip over them on RedLasso, but it's as easy on TiVo as well. Or with a VCR.
And as someone else mentioned before, RedLasso has been around for MONTHS, on high-profile web sites. So why strike now, as opposed to before, when it wasn't AS popular?
The big advantage to using RedLasso (or even Hulu) over just regular NBC clips is: You can MAKE your own clip. Maybe I wanted to include the scene before, or two scenes after, what NBC has online. If I'm "limited" by them, then I don't have total control over what I want to share. And if I CAN get that total control, well, why not get it?
I absolutely and totally support copyright holder's rights. The problem is, RedLasso is NOT a great player for watching a whole episode, and it is EXACTLY like the public broadcast. They do not adulterate it in any way. The networks still have a great case, but, it's not as terrible as it potentially could have been. And frankly, I hope they can work out some sort of compromise to continue RedLasso, even if it is a 3-hour tape delay or something for the west coast.
RedLasso's business was never intended for watching entire episodes, unlike Hulu which is. But rather, RedLasso is in a great position to promote back to sites like Hulu for viewers that want to watch the entire episode. To me, adding this ability to the RedLasso player would be the right thing to do. Imagine watchinga clip from a TV show and linking back to the entire episode on Hulu?
with the same ending.
Venture Cap guys, kiss your $$$ goodbye.
This thing is completely illegal.
Oh, and for those of you who think it should be OK, I would like the pink slip to your car - since you have no problem with theft, I'm sure you will think I'm forward thinking and enlightened when I take your vehicle - after all, it's not like you worked hard for it.
What's your point of view with YouTube then? YouTube clearly has the ability to filter content (eg. pornography), yet you can still get illegally uploaded content on their site every day of the week.
The networks still own their shows. Nobody is taking it away from them. If someone steals my car then I don't own it anymore. It's no longer in my possession because someone TOOK IT AWAY FROM ME.
Some of you guys come up with the dumbest analogies. LOL
-----------------------------
Dear Bloggers and friends of Redlasso,
We would like to thank you for using Redlasso. We have built this tool with you in mind. It is your support that has proven that Redlasso is a relevant distribution channel, and it is your continued support that will help us achieve our goals as the bridge between the blogging community and the publishers.
Redlasso believes in, and encourages the proper use of copyrighted material. We launched our site as a solution for publishers, bloggers, and advertisers to the very real problem of untraceable video on the internet.
As you probably already know, Redlasso received a cease and desist letter from several media companies yesterday.
Although we have great respect for the media companies involved, we strongly disagree with the letter’s conclusion. The media companies are asking us for a response by May 29th. We are currently reviewing the letter and plan to respond in due time.
We were disappointed with the letter, especially given our transparent and open approach with the major content providers. We have been upfront in all of our discussions over the past two years including providing site logins, updates on our traction in the marketplace, and our business model. We will continue with our open approach as we continue to look to enter partnering agreements with all publishers.
This will not affect the usability of the Redlasso site. We are open for business and will remain so as we continue the discussions.
Our goal from the outset has been to develop a platform that will be beneficial to content providers, the commentators in the blogosphere and ultimately to people who visit these sites.
The Beta you have been participating in was devised to demonstrate that there is a demand for this type of service. We have not earned any revenue from the site and it is our full intention to get agreements in place with content providers so they can share in the opportunities and revenues enabled by Redlasso’s tools. We also believe that you should share in this revenue.
We believe we offer a valuable service for several reasons:
1) Redlasso brings order to the use of content by providing content producers a reliable means for tracking video and audio usage on the internet. The “Redlasso player” is replacing “untraceable players” on many blogs, so partnering with Redlasso will finally enable a profitable blogging distribution model for content providers.
2) We have addressed the specific needs of the blogger distribution channel. You have told us you want a single site giving you the ability to search, and create limited duration clips of, broadcast media to meet your mission of covering and commenting on daily events in the news.
3) We are a media tool center for bloggers. We are at your service as you continue to create news about news.
4) You have made the Redlasso Beta a success demonstrated by the 24 million uniques and 10 million video plays in April.
Redlasso wants to keep the dialogue open between us at all times. We want to hear from you.
We in turn will keep you apprised of our progress with our talks with content owners.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Thank you again for your faithful patronage and support.
Sincerely,
Redlasso’s Management Team
Now, one counter argument might be well Slingbox does the same thing. Well, no Slingbox doesn't do anything like this currently. Slingbox allows one user (ONE USER) to access his or her cable output from a remote location. The user cannot see the cable box of his girlfriend two states away, nor can the girlfriend see his cable box. While I believe the concept of fair use is strecteched even with SlingBox - Redlassoo isn't even on the same planet in terms of legal standing.
A few notes about the Redlasso presser:
"Redlasso believes in, and encourages the proper use of copyrighted material."
This statement is hysterical. RedLasso - your business model is based on the concept of stealing something that does not belong to you. You steal video from a cable system (and then up the value chain all the way to the companies and people who pay millions and spend countless hours producing this high quality content) and you then pass it along to millions of people - without ever having consent, approval, or any revenue generating model for the content owner in place. Let me ask you this "Red Lasso Management Team" - is it ok for me to take the output of my cable box, put a few splits and boosters in the system, and then pass that cable system to all of my neighbors? That is EXACTLY what you are doing - with one major additional legal no no in what you are doing - not only are you stealing the video signals, you are distributing them over DMA, State, and National market lines thereby violating the terms agreed to by the actors, producers, content owners, broadcasters, cable channels, cable systems - not to mention the international laws associated with distribution of content etc...
"You have made the Redlasso Beta a success demonstrated by the 24 million uniques and 10 million video plays in April."
You are providing free cable over the internet without any geographical restrictions - oh, and you are providing it for free - did you really question if you would have trouble getting people to sign up? Also, 10 million video plays in a month - probably time for the "beta" classification to be removed - your simple, yet highly illegal concept works.
"Redlasso wants to keep the dialogue open between us at all times. We want to hear from you. Sincerely, Redlasso’s Management Team "
Note to PR folks - generally, signing something as "management team" should be reserved for a sign hanging on the bathroom door of a convenient store like - "The bathroom is out of operation...Sincerely - The Management Team".
Now, one counter argument might be well Slingbox does the same thing. Well, no Slingbox doesn't do anything like this currently. Slingbox allows one user (ONE USER) to access his or her cable output from a remote location. The user cannot see the cable box of his girlfriend two states away, nor can the girlfriend see his cable box. While I believe the concept of fair use is strecteched even with SlingBox - Redlassoo isn't even on the same planet in terms of legal standing.
A few notes about the Redlasso presser:
"Redlasso believes in, and encourages the proper use of copyrighted material."
This statement is hysterical. RedLasso - your business model is based on the concept of stealing something that does not belong to you. You steal video from a cable system (and then up the value chain all the way to the companies and people who pay millions and spend countless hours producing this high quality content) and you then pass it along to millions of people - without ever having consent, approval, or any revenue generating model for the content owner in place. Let me ask you this "Red Lasso Management Team" - is it ok for me to take the output of my cable box, put a few splits and boosters in the system, and then pass that cable system to all of my neighbors? That is EXACTLY what you are doing - with one major additional legal no no in what you are doing - not only are you stealing the video signals, you are distributing them over DMA, State, and National market lines thereby violating the terms agreed to by the actors, producers, content owners, broadcasters, cable channels, cable systems - not to mention the international laws associated with distribution of content etc...
"You have made the Redlasso Beta a success demonstrated by the 24 million uniques and 10 million video plays in April."
You are providing free cable over the internet without any geographical restrictions - oh, and you are providing it for free - did you really question if you would have trouble getting people to sign up? Also, 10 million video plays in a month - probably time for the "beta" classification to be removed - your simple, yet highly illegal concept works.
"Redlasso wants to keep the dialogue open between us at all times. We want to hear from you. Sincerely, Redlasso’s Management Team "
Note to PR folks - generally, signing something as "management team" should be reserved for a sign hanging on the bathroom door of a convenient store like - "The bathroom is out of operation...Sincerely - The Management Team".
Watch closely what's been happening in the music space. The smartest bands have already figured out that their initial song offerings are nothing but a promotional loss leader to get mind-share, they make all of their profits on the back-end with live shows, fan materials, special cuts, etc. Why? Because in this new world of the long tail, it is harder and harder for anyone to ramp up any significant mind-share/attention! Most bands should be so lucky that people would want to "steal" their music (i.e. take it for free). Most would have to pay people to take it...
Back to the news networks: they should be ECSTATIC for RedLasso or anyone else to repurpose their content and bring it in front of many more people that way. Once a news-hour has passed and the ads that were embedded ran, the value goes to near 0.
That's why it's called "old news" :)
It's really cute that they'd rather have you watch clips on their controlled sites, but that misses the point completely about the potential added-value of blog commentary and (both by the author and in the comments). Of course it's not surprising, because they still largely have no clue about how web 2.0 works.
If they were smart, they say to Redlasso: Use our stuff all you want, here, we'll make it even easier for you, under these conditions: We get to control the start-up still frame (including embedded links possibly) and the fade out/end frame. Or at least one of the two. Free advertisement for them all over the net, where they can THEN link to their other walled/controlled archives, etc. etc.
And again, it's about mind-share: If they could pay someone to constantly replay their BRANDED content and create mind-share over and above the number of live viewers of the 24 hour networks (an anemic number...), they would/should. Wake up people, this is a whole new ballgame. Ignore this fact at your peril.
What they really want is for someone to see a clip of say Keith Olberman on Huffington Post and say to themselves: I had better catch what this guy will say tonight LIVE. (If the blog post or comments/discussion spurred on such a decision, even better.)
Wake up.
We have been averaging more than 11 million unique visitors over the past 4 months, with more than 30 million video streams each month. These are not internal numbers, they are reported publically by the Internet audience measurement firm, comScore. Voxant has developed a viable economic model to distribute high-quality, professionally produced content to millions of viewers each month. The content is free, fully licensed, and web publishers and bloggers share in the advertising revenue stream.
In closing, Voxant has always believed that copyrights matter. We recognize that Web publishers, advertisers and content providers have everything to win from respecting licensing agreements.
Fred Krazeise
Voxant Media Relations
Given their attitude, it seems Redlasso wouldn't mind if I stopped by their offices and stole some of their computers and sold them on the street and keep the profit for myself, just like they are doing with the Networks content.
video joiner for mac can Join multiple videos of same or different format and save it as single video.
goonzu gold goonzu moneybuy goonzu gold goonzu online goldscions of the fate gold cheap goonzu gold
gw gold GuildWars Gold Guild Wars Gold GuildWars money cheap gw gold
habbo credits habbo gold habbo coins buy habbo gold cheap habbo credits
Sho Online Mun Sho Mun Sho Online gold Sho gold buy Sho Online gold
angels gold angels online gold buy angels goldcheap angels online gold
Rose zulyrose zulierose online zulyrose online zulieArua ROSE zuly
kal geons kal gold kal online geonskal online gold kalonline Geons
Chat
chat sohbet
travesti
travesti
travesti
travesti
gizli kamera
gizli kamera
islak mendil
travestiler
chat
sohbet kanalları
travesti
ilahiler100.net
good
toplist
www.travestiisiteleri.com
Toplist
Chat
Site ekle
Warhammer powerleveling
wow power leveling
Warhammer powerleveling
Warhammer powerlevel
Warhammer Gold
Aion powerleveling
Aion Gold
MMOGA mediates virtual goods for online games within 1-24 hours. Offers don´ t only consist of the latest games, items, WoW powerleveling, WoW gold but WoW accounts and much more. Furthermore we have currencies for plenty top online games like Silkroad Gold, Guild Wars Platin, Eve ISK, Lotro Gold, AOE Gold and many more.
In addition we offer prepaid game cards for many games. Multilingual competent team, we are your MMORPG´s partner.
ブライダル;
ペアリング;
分譲マンション;
クレジットカード 現金化;
電話占い
結婚相談所 東京;
オートローン;
カラーコンタクト;
フレッツ光;
治験;
雛人形